Voiceless (Dedicated to Richard Hunt)

WOOOOOOW, this story has received a lot of unexpected attention lately. 0_O I was not expecting this at all! Thanks, you guys! ​

Anyways, first off I would like to apologize for saying I would finish Chapter 11, but not getting it done when I said I would. I could say that life has been really busy lately, but that's just an excuse. I'm sorry.

Secondly, to pay penance, here's Chapter 11, in all it's glory. Second to last chapter, folks!

Finally, I would like to apologise if the writing isn't at it's best quality at the moment. I had the WORST case of writer's block ever while writing this, and I hope it doesn't show too much. DX

Anyways, enough rambling, on with the story!

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They’d talked for a long time. Or rather, Dr. Teeth had talked, Janice had listened and had occasionally written down a question or gestured in response to something. Floyd had offered to talk to her about it, but Dr. Teeth had shaken his head at the suggestion.

“Floyd,” he had said, patting the bassist on the shoulder, “You’re a good man, and you’ve done a lot, not just for Janice, but for the band. But right now, you need a break. This is something I need to discuss with her alone.” He was grateful that Floyd hadn’t argued any further.

A few days after the funeral Janice had indicated that she was ready to work with the band again, playing guitar. Dr. Teeth had been relieved; they had all their instruments at least. However, there was still one thorny problem they had to deal with first.

“So here’s where we stand.” Dr. Teeth said flatly, leaning forward and cupping his chin in his hand. “You can still play. We still have a show, but…” He exhaled, wondering how she would take the news. “I talked to Kermit, made a few phone calls at the Jim Henson Co.”

Janice, who was sitting on a chair across from him in the dining room of the boarding house the Mayhem had rented, raised an eyebrow. An unspoken question hung in the air between them. And?

“They’re asking around the other Muppeteers now, but if no one’s able to step up and speak for you well enough, well…it could be a minimum of six months before they consider hiring anyone new.”

Janice’s shoulders slumped at that news. She leaned forward slightly and rubbed her temples, exhaling softly, trying not to lose control. On one hand, she didn’t have to face a very sudden transition from one voice to another, and with a few months’ time she would be able to ease into the idea of a new voice, a new Muppeteer. On the other hand, she loved to play her guitar, but she loved to sing too, and not having a voice was becoming very frustrating. And those six months were a minimum…

Dr. Teeth thought of reaching out to her and comforting her, but thought better of it. Janice sat up after a minute, still struggling to keep control, but steadily calming down. She took the piece of paper near her and wrote down a question.

So what are we going to do about next week’s show?

“I’ve been thinking about that. I know you’ll be playing with us next week, but a good chunk of our songs have backing female vocals, and Floyd and I can’t handle it all on our own. What would you say to us temporarily hiring a substitute singer?”

Janice blinked, and then looked somewhat angry.

“We wouldn’t be replacing you,” Dr. Teeth added quickly. “Just your vocals until you can get your voice back. Once you do, and you’re in fine singing shape again, we’ll let the other singer go.” The anger left Janice’s face, and she turned her head to the side, staring out the window and crossing her long, near-bare legs. She looked thoughtful. Dr. Teeth sat back in his chair and waited. After a few minutes, she picked up the pencil.

I’m not in love with the idea she wrote, but there doesn’t seem to be anything else we can do right now. Can I help pick her out? When are we going to run auditions?

“Yeah, of course you can.” Dr. Teeth said, relieved that she wasn’t fighting the idea. “We’ll start posting notices later today and tomorrow, and have auditions three days from now. You know, give time for word to spread. Hopefully that’ll give whoever we pick time enough to learn next week’s set of songs and get some practice in with us before opening night. It’s short notice, but that’s all we can do right now.”

Alright. Who’ll we get to design the notices? A piece of paper with rip-off phone number tabs on the bottom isn’t going to cut it.

As the conversation continued back and forth, Dr. Teeth was relieved more than anything else. Considering the circumstances, Janice was taking this surprisingly well.

The conversation inside of Janice’s head, however, was a different story.

They’re trying to replace you.

Like, no, they’re not. And we need this.

They’re trying to replace you.

That is a lie. Now, like, let’s get back to the subject at hand, please. And since when did I start having conversations inside of my head?

The doubts promptly shut up. Janice sighed and rubbed her forehead. This was going to be a long six months.

​

Beaker tilted his head to the side as a crumpled up piece of paper flew past him. Bunsen slid his palms over his gleaming head in frustration, ending with his forehead planted firmly on the desk’s surface. He muttered some dark gibberish under his breath and sighed loudly. Beaker looked away so that the distressed scientist wouldn’t see him smile. Designing something that would get the very last bit of toothpaste out of the tube was turning out to be harder than either of them had anticipated. It was getting close to ten-thirty, the closing time, and the moon was shining through the basement window. If Beaker stood directly below it, he could see a sliver of its silver face.

“Coffee.” Bunsen muttered, and then straightened up. His back popped, and he winced. “I’m going to get some coffee. You want any, Beaker?” He said, looking over to where his assistant was seated.

Beaker shook his head and smiled again. Clearly, Bunsen didn’t remember what happened the last time Beaker ingested coffee. Bunsen headed out, only to bump into Kermit in the hallway. He was so surprised that he didn’t even notice that Kermit’s muppeteer was standing behind him.

“Oh! Goodness!” He exclaimed, putting his hand up to his mouth. “Kermit!”

“Hello Dr., how are you this evening?” Kermit said pleasantly.

“Oh, very good, I was just heading to get some coffee. What brings you down here at this time of night?”

“Oh, Steve and I were just heading in to go talk to Beaker. Is he in tonight?”

“He is. If I may be so bold as to ask, what for?”

Kermit gave an apologetic shrug. “Sorry Bunsen, that’s between us and Beaker, at least for the moment. May we come in?”

Bunsen nodded. “I’ll be with you in a few minutes, I’m just going to go and…”

“Get your coffee.” Steve said. Bunsen looked over at the shaggy-haired young man, who had his hands in his pockets and was smiling sheepishly.

“Yeah.” Bunsen said, feeling kind of dazed. He nodded to the pair of them and headed on down the hallway, rubbing his forehead.

Beaker was still sitting by one of the lab tables, with several books on quantum physics spread out before him, along with a lined notebook. This little notebook had been his lifeline for the past several weeks, as he wrote in it not just the phrases needed to communicate with Dr. Honeydew, The Swedish Chef and others, but in secret, when his pain over Richard’s passing came on strong, he wrote out his pain in the scribbling’s from a no.2 pencil. He kept a special section of the book for that, one which no one else was allowed to see, at least not yet.

He had to admit it though; living without a voice was proving to be a bother. Bunsen had been very understanding about the matter, and ever since he had asked for Beaker’s forgiveness, the friendship between the two of them had improved drastically. He had supplied Beaker with a computer in the lab, so that Beaker could communicate via the writing program on it. Mind you, they were planning to purchase a computer to input their data anyways, but it was still a kind thing for Bunsen to do. It still didn’t alleviate the fact that, without his customary meeping, Beaker was having a horrible time just trying to function from day to day. He missed Richard so much, and he missed what they used to have, but Beaker needed his voice back.

The door swung open behind him. Beaker turned around, wondering how Bunsen had managed to grab his coffee so quickly. He blinked, surprise showing on his face when he saw Kermit there in his face. Wrong green muppet. His surprise grew even greater when he saw Steve Whitmere, Kermit’s Muppeteer, standing behind the frog with a sheepish grin on his face.

An awkward silence filled the room. Beaker stared, uncomprehending. What were Kermit and Steve doing in the lab so late at night.

“Steve and I have a bit of a proposition for you.” Beaker’s eyebrows, so rarely seen due to being hidden behind his bulging eyes, rose at that. Kermit wondered how on earth he was going to word what he had to say next.

“As you well know, I have been in contact with Jim Henson Co., asking various Muppeteers if they would be willing to step up and give Richard’s former muppets voices for the time being, at least. Sweetums and Statler already have their voices back.”

Beaker sat up straighter at that. He had heard about Sweetums but he hadn’t heard about Statler. He looked past Kermit at Steve, and his jaw dropped. No way. No way, no way, no way…

“Well, we…that is, Steve and I…” Kermit rubbed the back of his head, feeling decidedly uncomfortable.

Steve stepped forward and got down on one knee in front of Beaker to see the muppet at eye level. Beaker was trying his hardest in his shock not to laugh. What, is he going to propose to me now? However, what Steve had to say next confirmed Beaker’s earlier suspicions.

“Beaker, what would you say to me being your new Muppeteer? I’ve proven to the folks at Jim Henson Co. that I can do a good impression of the voice that Richard gave to you, so now I’m asking you personally. Before you make your decision, know that Kermit already explained to me what processes go on when a muppet gets a new Muppeteer, especially if the old Muppeteer has passed away,” Beaker’s mind was reeling. They want me to share a Muppeteer with KERMIT? They want me to share a Muppeteer with the world’s most successful frog? Me, Beaker? Are you serious?

But if I do this, would I betray Richard’s memory?

“And I want you to know that I’m not replacing Richard. No one can ever replace Richard.” Steve blinked a few times and took a deep breath. “However, I will do my best to upload the legacy he’s left behind in you, if you choose to have me. So what do you say?”

Beaker seemed lost in thought for a few moments, then, realizing that the young man did have a point, slowly nodded. From behind Steve’s shoulder, Kermit smiled. He’d be proud to share a puppeteer with the young assistant.

“Thank you.” Steve stood back up to his full height, and Beaker walked into the middle of the room, not wanting to crash into any delicate equipment. Steve put his hand on Beaker’s shoulder, and in moments, Beaker went limp. Steve caught him before he could crash to the floor in a pile of felt and orange fuzz, then quietly set everything up. It took about five minutes, total.

Beaker sat up, looked around. The first thing that he noticed was that Steve’s hands were warm. The second thing that he noticed was the horrible scratchy pressure that had been on his throat since Richard had passed away was gone. Timidly, carefully, he attempted to speak.

“Meep?”

It wasn’t Richard. It would never be Richard.

But it was close enough, and for Beaker, that was just fine.

When Bunsen came in with his coffee, the first thing he noticed was that Beaker was meeping away happily, so overjoyed at finally being able to speak. He wasn’t voiceless anymore. Secondly, he noticed Kermit and Steve standing nearby, listening to him with looks of peace and joy on their faces. Steve’s work was done.

In his haste to give Beaker a hug, Bunsen completely forgot about his coffee. He ended up flopping the steaming, rich smelling mug on Beaker’s lab coat, causing the hapless assistant to omit several high pitched shrieks as Bunsen apologised profusely.

Kermit looked at Steve and smiled. Things were finally starting to return to some sense of normality in The Muppet Show.

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I knew Steve Whitmire took over Beaker and Kermit. Well, this is awesome! I cannot wait for one more chapter. I knew what took you so long. Writer's block! Bleech! Those are awful! No wonder this chapter took you forever. More soon okay?

I liked your portrayal of Janice's doubts and fears. Not only has she lost someone important, she's faced with the prospect of possible replacement, no matter how much the guys try to reassure her. Not even Floyd can allay those fears, I think.

The scene with Beaker and Steve is interesting. It's almost like a laying-on of hands? So...humans have the power to just "give a voice to" a Muppet, yet they're not puppets per se? Intriguing. Odd, but intriguing. And Bunsen getting so excited he spills hot coffee on poor Beakie...yeah, things'll be just fine.

One small niggle: um, did you intend to write "upload his legacy" or is that just an unintentionally amusing typo?

Hope you finish this one out. The aftermath of a death is always much more important than the death itself, for those who go on. Bravo.
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I liked your portrayal of Janice's doubts and fears. Not only has she lost someone important, she's faced with the prospect of possible replacement, no matter how much the guys try to reassure her. Not even Floyd can allay those fears, I think.

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Glad you liked it. Yeah, I can kind of relate to Janice. I was recently laid off one of my jobs as well, and even though I knew that my replacement was necessary and I had agreed to it beforehand, it still kind of stings a bit.

The scene with Beaker and Steve is interesting. It's almost like a laying-on of hands? So...humans have the power to just "give a voice to" a Muppet, yet they're not puppets per se? Intriguing. Odd, but intriguing.

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Kind of. Basically, to give a muppet a voice, the muppeteer needs to take control of the muppet like a puppet at least once, meaning that they temporarily lose the muppetness that they need to stand independent of their puppeters, and become...well, just puppets. Once the new voice is tried out, then the puppeteer removes his or her hands and the muppet can stand on his or her own again. In order to continue keeping the voice, this needs to happen at least once a week, when the Muppets and Muppeteers are working together. I hope this doesn't sound too confusing or far-fetched.

One small niggle: um, did you intend to write "upload his legacy" or is that just an unintentionally amusing typo?

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*headdesk* Can you tell I was half asleep when I wrote most of this? I meant to say 'uphold'. XD I need to do some editing on that post later (to correct some formatting as well as correct that mistake).

Hope you finish this one out. The aftermath of a death is always much more important than the death itself, for those who go on. Bravo.

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I intend to. I only have two more major scenes to write, so those should only be about a chapter to cover (depending how long the Electric Mayhem auditioning scene ends up being). Thanks again for reading!

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, the final chapter of Voiceless is sitting RIGHT here in my harddrive, after a one-year hiatus due to losing interest in The Muppets for a while and other nasty personal problems coming up. *shudders* Anyway, finally, THE CONCLUSION. Enjoy!

It had been a long day of auditions. Singer after singer had come forward, some with instruments, some not. There were a few good players, and several of the girls could carry some kind of tune, but unfortunately most of them reminded Janice of dying crows or warbling cows. The ones that could sing specialized in a different style than the jazz/rock that The Electric Mayhem grooved to, and though they had sent several hopefuls to the orchestra pit or the choir (as good musicians should never go to waste), they still hadn’t found anyone to fit the role.

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Rabbit changed all that.

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“We’re sorry, but we can’t have you in The Electric Mayhem at this time.” The words, though softly spoken, still sounded harsh to Dr. Teeth as Janice once again silently vetoed another candidate. The red-haired cat softly nodded and walked off the stage after a quiet “Thank you for your time”. ​

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“Candidate #80?” Scooter called out backstage. He sounded exhausted. ​

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Janice sat up in surprise as the next muppet walked out on stage. She was a humanoid based off of an African woman, dressed in a traditional Nigerian dress, yellow with a green sash, her hair wrapped up in a matching green gele that towered almost a foot off of her head. She was beautiful!​

Rabbit stood back, took a deep breath, and started singing completely acapella. Dr. Teeth immediately sat even more forward in his chair. Janice’s eyes widened, and then focused. ​

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Birds flying high,​

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You know how I feel.​

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Sun in the sky, ​

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You know how I feel.​

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Janice’s mind was reeling as Rabbit continued to sing. The song wasn’t absolutely perfect, but then again, it was almost impossible to match up with Nina Simone. What was important was that Rabbit was singing this just as well as Janice ever had, which was a lot better than the other auditions had. The singer’s eyes were closed, and a smile was gracing her beautiful lips. ​

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Breeze drifting on by, ​

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You know how I feel.​

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It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life​

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For me,​

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And I’m feeling good. ​

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She was improvising, stressing other syllables, trilling in all the right places, a wonderful jazz singer. For the first time that day, Janice smiled. Rabbit got through the second verse and was about to hit the third one when Dr. Teeth raised his hand. Instantly, she quieted. ​

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“I’m all for you!” He bellowed. “That was fantastic!” Rabbit’s face broke out into a huge grin as she thanked him. “I’d take you on immediately, but my vote isn’t the one that counts here. Janice?” He turned to her. ​

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She looked at Rabbit, and as she did, a million thoughts went through her head. Like, I know this is only gonna be temporary and all, and like, she’s a really good singer and she’ll fit right in, but if it all goes wrong and I leave…will she be able to replace me? Would I let her replace me, if I had to and it was good for the band?​

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A minute passed, and Janice finally made her decision.​

***************************** It hurt. There were too many things here that reminded him of what had happened, and what he had lost.

Scooter walked through the empty theatre with his gym bag in hand, gathering what belongings he had left still at the theatre. He had cleared out of his Uncle’s place earlier while he’d been out for the day, not wanting to cause a fuss, and had left him a letter, thanking him for all the kindnesses he had shown Scooter and his sister. He had left one there for his sister there too, on the off-chance she ever came back to visit. He half smiled at that. Perhaps it was in the blood, a nomadic strain that could not and would not die.

It hurt too much being here, so soon after Richard’s passing, now alone. Scooter straightened his shoulders and adjusted the strap of his bag. He’d already said his goodbyes to his friends here, albeit rather subtly. He didn’t want them to talk him out of it, not this time.

He knew what he had to do.

Slipping into Kermit’s office, he gathered what small amount of paperwork he had kept there for safekeeping in the files - passport, birth certificate, medical papers – and turned to leave, only to see Kermit standing in the doorway. The frog’s arms were limp at his sides, and his shoulders were slumped.

“You’re leaving?” A jumbled mess of thoughts rattled around Kermit’s skull. I don’t want him to go. He shouldn’t go, we need him here, but you aren’t being fair Kermit, how many times did you want to do the same when Jim died and how many times do you STILL want to do the same if only for a little while, but you couldn’t because you’re the head of this household and they needed you more than you needed yourself and oh Scooter oh Scooter I can’t do that to you. We want you and I need you but you need this more than you need me.

Scooter’s face set in determination. Don’t try to stop me.

“I won’t stop you.” Kermit said softly. Go now, go on, take the chance that I could not. “But before you leave, let me give you something.” Scooter’s determination shifted into surprise, and a little bit of curiosity, then into outright shock as the little green frog barreled forward and enveloped him into a tight hug. Tears spilled as he hugged Kermit back.

“I am so proud of you,” Kermit finally said, stepping back to look at Scooter, tears in his own eyes. “I am so proud of who you’ve become. You came here a boy, but you are now well on your way to becoming a man…er, muppet.” Scooter cracked a smile at that. “I know it’s time to let you go, but listen to me, if there’s ever a time that you are in need of us or want to come back, the door here and the door to my home are always open for you.” He hugged Scooter again. “We love you, Scooter. I love you.”

Scooter quietly pulled out of the hug, reached over for a pen and piece of paper, and wrote back And I love you, all of you. Thank you for all that you’ve done for me. You saved my life.

He wrote down one final message, folded the paper in half and headed to the door. Kermit followed and walked with Scooter all the way to the side entrance of the theatre. A taxicab was waiting, and one train ticket stuck out of Scooter’s pocket.

“Goodbye, Scooter.” Kermit could barely get the words out past the big lump clogging his throat.

Scooter passed him the paper. With one last hug, he got into the taxicab and drove away. Kermit watched him until he disappeared, then unfolded the paper.

The next time that I see you, I will call out to you, and I will be singing again.

It was the last time Kermit saw Scooter for a long, long time.

The End​

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Author's Note: Scooter was a retired character froom Richard's death until 2000, quite a few sttretch of years. I can see him leaving during that time, to settle his grief and to find peace. I might write some snippets of what happened to him during those years, so keep an eye out for those.​

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Olewerabbit is one of my OCs who will definately be cameoing in my later fics. She is based off of the Nigerian women that I knew back in my old church, who really did dress like Rabbit did on Sundays. ​

THANKS AGAIN EVERYBODY FOR READING THIS!!!! Thank you for your patience and for sticking with me for so long as well. A million thank yous and good night! *vanishes*

I just recently joined this forum, so I'm a little late in replying to this!
I loved this tribute! Scooter is my favorite Muppet and Richard is my favorite muppeteer. Thank you for doing such a good job!
*wipes tears from eyes*